HE WHO KNOWETH HIS BEING HATH KNOWN HIS LORD GOD 18 страница
65.
the Fruits hung low so as to be easily gathered,
the Fruits plucked,
the Texts revealed,
66.
the Deeds of the deniers effaced,
the Deeds of the Advancers confirmed,
67.
the Tablet which was kept in Heaven manifested in Truth,
the Written Tablet pronounced with Authority,
68.
and the Desired [Lord] of all existence,
the Beloved of all creatures,
the worshipped of those on earth and in Heaven,
hath been manifested in the Temple of a Youth,
while the tongue of everything declares,
"Verily, blessed is God, the Creator of the Creators."
69.
O My servant! O Joseph!
hear the Tones of God, and do not compare this Day with any other day,
neither the Wonderful Sweet Words of God with any other words;
70.
look to the apparent matters with thine own eye,
and do not follow anyone in knowing the greatest and brilliant orb.
71.
In this Day, the beloved of God must not hesitate or delay an instant
in teaching the Cause of the Manifestation;
and must summon the people continually, with good admonitions and conciliating words,
to the Religion of Majestic Oneness;
72.
because verily, in this Day, to the soul who is the cause of guidance to another soul,
the recompense of a Martyr in the way of God will be assuredly recorded
by the Pen of the Cause for his deed.
73.
This is from the Bounty of God unto the servants' teachers.
74.
Do according to what thou has been commanded and do not be of those who tarry.
75.
And El-Baha is upon thee and upon those who are with thee,
if thou art steadfast in this Sublime and Most Exalted Cause.
Translated by A. Haddad
Tablet on Figurative Interpretation (of Holy Scripture) CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-25
FIGURATIVE INTERPRETATION
1.
This is what the tongue of grandeur spoke forth.
2.
The purpose of figurative interpretation is not that one be deprived of the outward sense of the verse,
nor that its intent be veiled.
3.
For instance, let us say that from the heaven of the divine will the command is revealed,
"Wash your faces."
4.
Do not interpret it figuratively,
saying that the intent is that one should wash the countenance of one’s inner self,
cleansing it with the water of mystical insight, and so forth.
5.
For in this manner a person might, by reason of such a figurative interpretation,
continue to have a malodorous face soiled with dirt,
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yet be convinced in his own mind that he had carried out the very essence of God's decree.
6.
For in this station it is clear and obvious that the intent is that the face be washed with physical water.
7.
Some of the words of God can be interpreted figuratively,
yet such nonliteral interpretations should not give rise to illusions and misconceptions,
nor miss the divine intent.
8.
Contemplate the verse revealed by the All-Merciful in the Qur’an,
"Whoso has been given wisdom has been given much good." Quran 2:272
9.
Some hold that the intent of the word "wisdom" is the divine laws revealed in scripture.
10.
Some maintain that "wisdom" is the science of medicine,
and that all who master it are given much good insofar as it concerns human beings.
11.
They believe that this science and that of physiology are the noblest branches of knowledge,
since they have been identified by the temple of wisdom with this exalted verse.
12.
Knowledge consists of two branches,
the study of the body and the study of the religions.
13.
The study of the body, in this divine verse, takes precedence,
and in reality it has precedence.
14.
For the appearance of the absolute Truth and the divine Laws
have all been for the sake of educating and advancing human beings,
safeguarding the people of the world, and so forth.
15.
Therefore, whatever causes human beings to be protected and in good health,
and secures their well-being,
takes and ever will take precedence.
This statement is clear and obvious.
16.
Some assert that "Wisdom" here means knowledge of the realities of things,
such that all who attain to this level possess exalted stations.
17.
Another faction believes that Wisdom is to do whatever benefits human beings.
18.
Whoever succeeds in arriving at this station possesses much good.
19.
A large number of people say that Wisdom is that which
protects human beings from whatever abases them
and guides them to what bestows glory upon them.
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20.
A group holds that Wisdom is knowing how to associate with people
and to conciliate them in a way that does not exceed the bounds of moderation.
21.
Some say that Wisdom is the science of metaphysics
that is founded upon the paradigms established by the ancient philosophers.
22.
In the same way, they say that Wisdom is the science of substances and accidents,
or of cosmology, and so forth.
23.
Others insist that Wisdom is knowing how to make one’s living in the world.
24.
Some identify Wisdom with a knowledge of basic principles.
25.
Some say it is the affairs of justice, which lie in giving to each his due.
Tablet on Figurative Interpretation (of Holy Scripture) CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 26-50
FIGURATIVE INTERPRETATION
26.
There are those who argue that Wisdom is the elixir,
such that whoever discovers it attains to much good.
27.
Others see Wisdom as the science of geometry.
28.
Each group has supported its assertions with evidence and proof
according to its own degree of perception.
29.
Were the details of these stations to be mentioned, it would result in tedium.
30.
Praise be to the One who spoke forth this exalted word:
31.
"The essence of wisdom is the fear of God."
32.
For the fear of God deters human beings from whatever leads to their abasement and degradation,
and aids them to attain that which causes their exaltation.
33.
Persons endued with reason avoid odious actions,
since they can foresee the rewards of doing so.
34.
The pavilion of the world’s order has been raised upon two poles,
reward and punishment.
35.
A little while ago this blessed verse shone forth from the divine mouth:
"Justice hath a mighty force at its command.
36.
It is none other than reward and punishment for the deeds of men.
37.
By the power of this force the tabernacle of order is established throughout the world,
causing the wicked to restrain their natures for fear of punishment."
Baha-ullah, Tablet of Maqsud, 1881
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38.
Thus spoke the King of Names.
He is, verily, the Speaker, the All-Knowing.
39.
In former times, some persons referred to themselves as people of the mystic Path,
and their writings are even now available in the land.
40.
Various peoples each chose a mystic order, and thereby Islam became divided.
41.
They created straits out of the most great ocean,
until, at last, the religion of God was overtaken by that which befell it.
42.
The tremendous power with which it had been imbued by the deeds and efforts of its adherents
was now transformed into weakness, as has been and will be seen.
43.
Some of those who call themselves dervishes
subject all the ordinances and divine laws to figurative interpretation.
44.
When it is pointed out that performing daily obligatory prayers is a irrefutable command of God,
they say that by obligatory prayers are meant ordinary prayers:
45.
"We came into the world praying, and have put into practice true obligatory prayers."
46.
This poor man is deprived of the outer meaning,
how much more the inner meaning.
47.
The idle fancies of heedless souls have been and are [now]beyond reckoning.
48.
Indeed, because of their laziness and indolence,
they have interpreted in a figurative fashion all the divine laws,
which are like an impregnable fortress for the safeguarding and security of the world.
49.
Immuring themselves in convents, they have chosen to do nothing except eat and sleep,
gullibly believing, with regard to the branches of knowledge,
whatever proposition anyone might advance.
50.
Yet to this day no trace of the heat of the love of God can be perceived in them,
except for a very few, who have tasted the sweetness of the utterance
and who, in sum, became aware of the true intent of the word "Manifestation."
Tablet on Figurative Interpretation (of Scripture) CHAPTER THREE
Divisions 51-75
FIGURATIVE INTERPRETATION
51.
Some of the figurative interpretations of Wisdom that were adverted to above
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are each, in their own right, correct.
52.
For they are not contradictory to the principles underlying the divine commands.
53.
Those verses containing commands or prohibitions, such as rituals,
the payment of blood money to the victim’s relatives for manslaughter, crimes, and so forth,
are intended to be implemented according to their literal meaning.
54.
Those divine verses concerning the Resurrection and the Hour,
whether they were revealed in past scriptures or in the Qur’an,
are for the most part to be interpreted figuratively.
55.
"And none knows its interpretation, save only God." Quran 3:5
56.
These matters have been made clear and demonstrated in the Book of Certitude.
57.
Anyone who ponders it will become aware of what was hidden from the eyes of all.
58.
Gaze upon what the Bestower has revealed in the Book, that is, the verse
59.
"It behooves not the sun to overtake the moon,
neither does the night outstrip the day." Quran 36:40
60.
The clergy, ancient and modern,
have commented upon and interpreted figuratively this blessed verse,
and each derived its meaning from his own beliefs.
61.
But these are the stations of delusion and idle fancy, whereas this is the station of knowledge.
62.
The individual whom they call the king of scripture commentators, Qadi Baydawi,
asserted that this verse was revealed in refutation of those who worshipped the sun.
63.
Note how far he is from the spring of knowledge,
despite the assertion of the people that he was profoundly learned.
64.
The reins of the branches of knowledge are in the grasp of the divine power.
65.
He bestows them upon whomever He desires.
66.
Also in the former scriptures,
most of the references to this dispensation made by the most high pen are figurative in nature.
67.
For instance, he says that the valleys will melt under him like wax. Micah 1:4
68.
He also says, "the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills" just as has occurred. Isaiah 2:2
69.
In another place he speaks of
"an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken."
Isaiah 33:20
70.
These passages are to be interpreted figuratively.
71.
Any equitable person will perceive
which stations must be adjudged according to the outward sense of the revelation.
72.
Indeed, today that which can cleanse the people of defilement,
and can deliver them into true repose,
is the faith of God, the religion of God, the Cause of God.
73.
Thus has the invisible discourse rained down from the heaven of mystical insight,
as a grace upon you.
74.
Give thanks and say, "To you be praise, O beloved of the mystics,
And to you be glorification, O goal of the worlds.
75.
And to you be thanks, you in whose grasp is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth."
[75 or 80 verses]
Translation by J. R. I. Cole
Tablet to Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dahají CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-25
SIYYID MIHDÍY-I-DAHAJÍ
1.
He is the Most Holy, the Most Great,
the Most Exalted, the Most High
2.
O My Name!
Yield thou praise unto God for having graciously chosen thee to be a shower of bounty for that which We have sown in the pure and blessed soil and enabled thee to serve as a springtime of tender mercy for the wondrous and sublime trees We have planted.
3.
Indeed so great is this favor that of all created things in the world of existence, none can ever hope to rival it.
4.
We have moreover given thee to drink the choice wine of utterance from the chalice of the heavenly bestowals of thy merciful Lord, which is none other than this Tongue of holiness—
5.
a Tongue that, as soon as it was unloosed, quickened the entire creation, set in motion all beings and caused the Nightingale to pour forth its melodies.
6.
This is the Fountain of living water for all that dwell in the realm of being.
7.
Oftentimes have We wafted upon thee the sweet savors of the All-Merciful from this Branch which moveth over the Tablet of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Unconstrained.
8.
By the righteousness of the [eternal] true God!
Were all created things, visible and invisible, to direct themselves towards Him,
thou wouldst find them winging their flight unto the Supreme Goal,
the Spot wherein the divine Lote-Tree exclaimeth:
9.
Verily, no God is there except Me,
the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.
10.
Great is thy blessedness, inasmuch as thou hast been journeying throughout the lands of God,
and been the embodiment of joy and assurance
for the people of Bahá who have renounced all else except Him,
and set their hearts towards this Court which hath shed its radiance upon all realms,
11.
and [sprinkled] [washed] them with the surging waters of this Ocean wherewith thou thyself hast been [sprinkled] [washed]— an Ocean which hath encompassed all created things.
12.
Indeed thou didst grasp the significance of rendering assistance unto God and didst arise to achieve this through the power of wisdom and utterance.
13.
Say:
To assist Me is to teach My Cause.
14.
This is a theme with which whole Tablets are laden.
15.
This is the changeless commandment of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.
16.
Comprehend this, O ye men of insight.
They that have passed beyond the bounds of wisdom fail to understand
the meaning of assisting God as set forth in the Book.
17.
Say:
Fear ye God and sow not the seeds of dissension amongst men.
18.
Observe ye that which hath been enjoined upon you by your Lord,
the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
19.
He knoweth the reality of victory and hath taught it to you with an utterance that the vain imaginings of them that rove distraught in the wilderness of doubt can never corrupt.
20.
O My Name!
Suffer all created things to quaff once again from this chalice which hath caused the seas to rise.
21.
Kindle then in the hearts the blazing fire which this crimson Tree hath ignited,
that they may arise to extol and magnify His Name amidst the adherents of all Faiths.
22.
Numerous letters from thee have been presented before Our Throne.
23.
We have perused them as a token of grace on Our part,
24.
and for each name thou didst mention therein We have revealed
that which will stir the minds of men and will cause the spirits to soar.
25.
Moreover We have repeatedly enabled thee to hearken unto the warblings of the birds of heaven
and to incline thine ear to the songs of the nightingales
pouring forth their melodies upon the branches.
Tablet to Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dahají CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 26-50
SIYYID MIHDÍY-I-DAHAJÍ
26.
Thus was the Pen of God set in motion in thy remembrance that thou mightest admonish men through the power of this utterance which is divinely ordained to be the revealer of the signs of His glory.
27.
Blessed is the spot wherein the anthem of His praise is raised,
and blessed the ear that hearkeneth unto that which hath been sent down
from the heaven of the loving-kindness of thy Lord, the All-Merciful.
28.
Urge thou the servants of God unto that whereunto We have urged thee
that they may abstain from whatsoever is forbidden them in the Mother Book.
29.
Those who perpetrate deeds that would create turmoil among the people
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